Product description

Written off as "fat" and "useless" in his youth, Mark Cavendish has sprinted to the front of the Tour de France peloton to become cycling's brightest star--and its most outspoken.
Following his debut best-seller "Boy Racer," Cavendish has truly come of age as one of the best cycling sprinters of all time.
In "At Speed," the Manx Missile details what it took to become the winningest Tour sprinter ever, examines the plan that led to his world championship victory, reveals the personal toll of his sacrifice that helped teammate Bradley Wiggins become the UK's first-ever Tour de France winner, and confesses his bitter disappointment at the London Olympic Games.
Screaming fights with teammates, rancorous contract negotiations, crushing disappointments--for Mark Cavendish, winning is always the cure. His book At Speed is the page-turning story of a living legend in the sport of cycling.

Author information

Born and raised on the Isle of Man, Mark Cavendish became a world track champion as a teenager in 2005 and a Commonwealth Games gold medalist a year later. In 2008 he regained his world title on the track with British teammate Bradley Wiggins. After switching his focus to the more glamorous world of road cycling, Cavendish set a new record of four stage wins in the 2008 Tour de France. He won six stages of the 2009 Tour de France and the prestigious Milan-San Remo one-day classic then went on to win the green points jersey and become the winningest Tour sprinter in history.
Widely regarded as the most exciting and charismatic young rider to join the sport in years, Cavendish will be the most closely watched sprinter in the pro peloton in 2013.

Review quote

There is, though, a lot in "At Speed" to make it a good book, a book about struggling with success, the difficulty of staying on top once you get there "At Speed" is the more introspective, probably tells us more about Cavendish the professional, shows more of what really drives him to be as intense as he is. Boy Racer might be a more enjoyable read, but At Speed is more rewarding. Podium Cafe "At Speed" reveals every facet of the man known simply as Cav Throughout the book you rarely feel that any of Cavendish s views have been airbrushed or, conversely, built up to either avoid or deliberately provoke controversy. He offers honest insights which are simultaneously simplistic and yet original Ultimately the joy of At Speed is the sense that, warts and all, this is the story of a rare sportsman. Velo Voices "At Speed" is a valuable book for anyone who is interested in an inside, detailed account of a top professional cyclist as he describes his take on his career and cycling. U.S. Cycling Report"

Back cover copy

Meet Mark Cavendish, cycling's biggest star. And loudest mouth.
Everyone knows Cav is fast. With 25 Tour de France stage wins in his pocket, no one disputes the Manx Missile's speed.
But he also owns one of the brashest--and most honest--voices in pro cycling. In his usual take-no-prisoners style, At Speed lays out the highs and lows of life in the pro cycling bubble. Along the way, Cav takes on all comers--the doubters who claimed he was a one-hit wonder, the rivals he fought for his sprinter's crown, and the team managers who yanked their support, only to see Cav win in the end.
At Speed unflinchingly recounts Cav's celebrated move to Team Sky and his crushing disappointment in the team's misuse of his skills. He lays out the winning strategy for his world championship--and the losing one for the Olympics. He breaks out the story on doping, and the riders who doped.
At Speed accelerates you into the fast lane and across the finish line with the vivid candor that has made Mark Cavendish cycling's brightest and most likable star.